Women's Tennis

RICHMOND, Va.- With less than a week before the season starts, the VCU tennis programs spent this past weekend giving back to the local Richmond community with a two-day clinic in association with the Jensen-Schmidt Tennis Academy for Down Syndrome.

Head Coach Paul Kostin and his VCU men's and women's tennis teams spent Saturday and Sunday working with over 50 kids from the Richmond area with down syndrome.

"As a coaching staff, we really think it's important to take to realize how blessed we are to be able to do the things we do on a daily basis," Kostin said. "It's important for our student-athletes to take this time to help out with events like this, it really puts a lot of things in perspective for everyone involved."

The Jensen-Schmidt Tennis Academy is established and designed to meet the sport specific needs of children and young adults with Down syndrome.

Led by Grand Slam tennis champions Luke and Murphy Jensen, along with Vince Schmidt, a pro from St. Louis, the group uses a high level of motivational exercises and positive attitudes. It is dedicated to giving students training in tennis, all the while having fun and building relationships.